Salcombe Gin Regatta - Blue Fleet Yawl Report
Published 12:58 on 9 Aug 2026
The never-ending summer sunshine continued throughout the week and with the wind varying from light on day one, becalmed on day two and rough conditions on day three, there was certainly something to suit everyones appetite and comfort zone. The balance of the week was generally moderate breezes that allowed us to enjoy some champagne sailing conditions in the estuary as well as a number of excursions into the range to look for Mark W (That is the orange cylindrical variety as the other Mark W was driving the water taxi all week !)
Two of the sailing highlights for Robin and myself in Y123 were probably the flat out plane we had on our way to Gerston in the heavy stuff on Tuesday, and surfing back into the harbour on the Wednesday in equally blustery conditions running close to Blackstone to stay as clear of the tide as possible.
In terms of the runners and riders there were four crews that all shared line honours at some point throughout the week making it an open and exciting series with an interesting amount of place changing and the overall result not being decided until the last race.
Although Tim Fells and Phil McGee were undoubtedly the quickest on the water across all conditions, a retirement due to gear failure and an OCS disqualification in race 5 meant they were carrying too many points for a podium finish despite racking up three wins.
Day One saw James Greenhill and Frankie Burn take an early lead, with Nigel Dawbarn and Andrew Ralston chalking up a solid second place with John Thornton securing third with one of his two crews for the week Bryony Thornton / Nicola Bass.
The race start for Day Two was certainly one of the most unusual, even by Salcombe standards. The solo fleet got away in clear breeze beating to Crossways against the tide. As the sea breeze started to fill in the Red Yawls start turned into a broad reach with everyone bunching towards mark 3. The Blue Yawl start was by now a running start with the fleet splitting both sides of the estuary to stay out of the tide, but making very slow progress towards the Red fleet, which were now becalmed just before Mark 3. Both fleets converged on Mark 3 at the same time in surreal conditions as one large log jam. Those who managed to round on the inside track kept their positions throughout with the remainder of the race becoming somewhat processional. Tim Fells and Phil Magee took their first win of the week with Anthony Lofts and Andrew Stirling holding on to second place while Simon Dawes and Steve Walter were getting used to driving Y15 on loan from Mike Knowles to secure third.
Day Three saw the big breeze come in during the afternoon as predicted and the talk on the yacht club terrace was of gear failure and injuries rather than sailing prowess, albeit the PROs decision to send the fleet to Mark 7 for two laps also got a mention ! A broken bow sprit curtailed Y17s race while Darius & Jane Panahy (Y 152) suffered a broken boom. Nigel Dawbarn also had a boom incident albeit his head came off the worse requiring a trip to A&E but only after he and Andrew manged to complete the race.
Robert Smith and Robin Piggott were very satisfied with what they thought was solid second place in such challenging conditions until learning of Fells and McGees retirement whereby they claimed line honours followed by Russell and John Smithers in second and Woody and Jon Manners in Third.
Despite predictions for the wind to ease on Day Four whereby more boats ventured to the starting area, in reality the wind was equally as fierce as the previous day resulting in one red fleet yawl capsizing prior to the start. Conditions were very challenging, but despite the strong winds the first 5 boats were all in relatively close proximity throughout the race and generally maintained their positions from Mark 1 with Y17 (Tim Fells) first, Y138 (James Greenhill) second and Y126 (Andrew Woody Wood) third.
Day Five appeared to start conventionally with the usual suspects crossing paths up the first beat and some place swapping before Y17 started to pull away and put some distance between themselves and the chasing pack. Y123 took an early lead over Y126 but several place changes occurred going into the bag and again beating back through the harbour to number 1. On the final rounding at Crossways Woody & Manners gained the inside track over Smith & Piggott and despite being pushed to the line Y126 prevailed for second on the water, but failing to hear a finishing bell for Fells & McGee (who were later confirmed OCS following a protest hearing) thus giving Woody & Manners their first win of the week.
Going into the Final Race Woody (Y126) & Greenhill (Y138) were guaranteed 1st or 2nd overall but either could take the overall win depending on who prevailed on the water. Smith (Y123), Dawbarn (Y99) and Smithers (Y19) were all capable of taking 3rd overall depending upon their relative finishing positions and points scored in the final race.
Smith & Fells both made a good start and hit the right hand side of the course while the remainder of the fleet stayed high on the Mill Bay side. Fells tacked across to Mill Bay and subsequently benefitted from the port hand lift that also favoured the remainder of the fleet. Smith & Piggott held on too long before tacking over and dropped to mid fleet. Woody & Manners were in a strong second place with James Greenhill and Frankie Burn chasing hard. Russell & John Smithers were also in the mix who had been joined in Y19 for the last race by William, the third generation of Smithers, who appeared to be having a fantastic time. (Well done for sailing three up John !)
The fleet bunched coming down the run, with most crossing from the ferry steps over to the foreshore moorings. Robert Smith decided to hold on further along Fishermans and crossed later bringing them back into contention with the main pack. More place changing occurred through the bag and on the return beat to number 1 Tim Fells & Phil McGee had a convincing lead. Robert Smith & Robin Piggott had pulled through to second while Woody & John Manners were battling with James Greenhill & Frankie Burn along with John Thornton & Nicky Bass.
The finishing positions for the final race were 1st Y17 (Fells & McGee), 2nd Y123 (Smith & Piggott), 3rd Y138 (Greenhill & Burn).
This was sufficient to secure the overall win for James Greenhill & Frankie Burn, followed by Woody & John Manners in second and Robert Smith & Robin Piggott in third.
All in all a superb weeks sailing with many memorable moments. Thank you to Nigel Blazeby and the whole race team for running a great regatta.
Robert Smith Y123 | Photos by Lucy Burn
